Tap water is drinkable, safe and the most economical and sustainable option. Obvious things that never hurt to remember in a market where questioning this evidence or at least sowing doubts is always an effective sales strategy. Having clarified that point, it is also clear that the water of Barcelona or Mallorca does not taste like that of Madrid or Bilbao, and that in many places drinking it directly from the tap is not always pleasant. The remedy goes through jugs, filters that are placed in the tap, systems with installation and even home remedies. But what is the best option? Assuming there is, of course.
Fear is one of the most effective sales arguments on the market. And if we talk about something that we consume continuously like water, the strategy is clear. Therefore, as soon as we review the claims of some systems, we will soon find negative references to chemicals - as if hydrogen and oxygen molecules were not chemical - or the promise of eliminating supposed contaminants, pesticides or heavy metals from the water that comes out. of the tap.
“In Spain, close to 100% of tap water is drinkable, another thing is that the taste is desirable,” Eloy García Calvo - director of the IMDEA Water Institute until 2022 - reminded us when we talked about the controversy with filtered water from the restaurants. In fact, it must be taken into account that none of these systems are water purifiers and that their main function is to eliminate or reduce the substances (chlorine, lime...) that cause the unpleasant taste.
Although this is probably an oversimplification, the quality of tap water is usually related to its hardness. The more minerals it includes (especially calcium), the harder it will be and the more problems there will be not only with the flavor, but with the maintenance of the installation and appliances. Harder or calcareous waters are also not the best for cooking and, of course, are perfect for ruining any attempt to make good coffee.
In Barcelona's Eixample, for example, the water has 191 milligrams of calcium carbonate per liter, which makes it semi-hard water according to data from Aigües de Barcelona. On its own website it offers a search engine that indicates the exact data of each address, as well as the points of origin of that water.
The chlorine level also influences the taste of the water. In 2018, the Zaragoza city council, with a similar level of harshness, started the campaign “In Zaragoza, better from the tap” where it gave some advice to neutralize the flavor.
“If the problem is the excessive taste of chlorine, the solution is very simple: fill the jug or glass bottle that you usually use to drink with tap water and let it sit for at least half an hour at room temperature so that the chlorine can evaporate.” , they explained. A trick that is much more effective if the water is then in the refrigerator, since the temperature makes the flavor less noticeable.
Works? As anyone who has tried it will know, it effectively reduces the possible chlorine taste, but it does nothing about the taste produced by that calcium carbonate in the water. That's when filters have to come into play.
Although we commonly talk about filters and water filtration systems, in reality most use a method of absorbing substances dissolved in water using active carbon, explains García Calvo. On the other hand, reverse osmosis would be reserved for cases that require more in-depth treatment.
This option, which is normally installed in the home water supply system, in addition to active carbon filters, also includes membranes that eliminate any particles from the water larger than 0.001 microns.
But returning to the most common ones, the speed at which the water flows through these activated carbon filters - sometimes reinforced with ion exchange resins -, the comfort of use and the price per liter are, in general terms, the factors to be considered. take into account when choosing one or another method.
Tappwater is one of the most popular brands of filters that go directly into the faucet. Natalia Cachafeiro, company spokesperson, is clear about the advantages of this option: “They can filter many more contaminants than jugs thanks to the pressure of tap water that pushes the water through the filtration stages.”
The brand, created in Barcelona in 2017 and which always presents itself as an alternative to bottled water, ensures that its system is as effective as reverse osmosis filters but that, unlike these, it does not remove healthy minerals such as tap water. magnesium, potassium or bicarbonate.
In addition, remember, in your case you do not need to continually fill a jug to have filtered water ready, so convenience is added to the list of advantages. From Brita, surely the best-known brand of jugs, although they also work with tap systems and fixed installations, they prefer to detail the advantages of each option.
You must take into account whether you want the filtered water only for drinking, or also for cooking, preparing hot drinks and protecting appliances from limescale, they explain. Also practicality: in the jug you have to change the filter more frequently, in "on tap" systems every four months and those installed under the sink, once a year.
There is another option, less known: ceramic filters that take advantage of the porosity of this material that acts as a natural filter, although in some cases it is reinforced with active carbon. They usually require a larger system, their filtering speed is very slow at first (one or two glasses per hour) and the filter unit is large and expensive, but its great advantage is that it lasts up to five years.
Prices vary between brands, but to continue with the Brita reference, their simplest jug does not reach 20 euros and the most recent model, the first glass one, is around 60 euros. Since reducing and eliminating plastic is one of the most repeated messages, it is not a bad idea to start with the jug itself that is used to achieve it.
To that, of course, we must add the price of the filter, with the consequent battle between originals and compatibles. Brita does not talk about the effectiveness of other brands, but they do remember that they can only ensure that their jugs, the original ones, fit perfectly and provide optimal filtration.
The Tappwater system costs about 90 euros per year and includes the device itself and four filters, which are changed every three months. After the first year, it is possible to get these filters for 60 euros for four. Regarding under-sink systems, the Brita filter that lasts one year costs 180 euros.
Although the cost per liter of water consumed is not detailed, in all cases it is insisted that any of these options represents considerable savings compared to purchasing bottled water. “In general, the cost per liter is lower than buying bottled water, saving more than 250 euros per year,” Tappwater points out.
That any of these methods is more sustainable and cheaper than buying bottled water is unquestionable. But do they really make tap water taste like nothing in cities with hard water?
That would be saying a lot, but it is true that they manage to eliminate a large part of the flavor and, above all, they get you used to the particular flavor - perhaps a touch of sweetness - of the resulting water. But, let's not fool ourselves, it is not comparable to the tap water in Madrid that its inhabitants often boast about.
The cold, as always, helps make the flavor of the filtered water even more neutral. But is it better to always have the jug of water in the refrigerator? Since part of the chlorine is eliminated and its function is to prevent the proliferation of microorganisms, there are those who recommend keeping it cold.
Something that Brita denies, ensuring that it is not necessary for their jugs to be in the refrigerator. Unless you want fresh water, of course. In any case, it is important to keep the jug clean, change the filter when necessary and not store the filtered water for more than 24 hours. You don't need a market study to know that these last two recommendations are not always followed.
In any case, less optimistic than us is the OCU, which in a comparison of the main jugs and brands in the sector concluded that they did not improve the water and in some cases made it worse. It is also true that this devastating analysis with controlled contaminants is from 2012 and that, in more recent articles, the organization seems somewhat less harsh with this type of purifying jars, as they call them.
In any case, it must be clear that its main task will always be to improve the taste of the water, in no case to make it healthier. Luckily, tap water is already tap water without going through any type of filter.
